Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

But Sedona is much better which is why people stay there. You're not above going to Sedona, just too cheap to spend the night there apparently.

Sedona is just a tourist trap. The restaurants are all mid and it's almost as hot as the valley.

Stop going in the summer. And also take up hiking. Then you will understand.

2 day trip to the Grand Canyon. Stayed at the El Tovar.

We have little kids and they loved all the ranger activities, including getting all the junior ranger badges for South Rim, East Rim, and the bottom of the canyon.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

But Sedona is much better which is why people stay there. You're not above going to Sedona, just too cheap to spend the night there apparently.

Sedona is just a tourist trap. The restaurants are all mid and it's almost as hot as the valley.

Love Elote Cafe in Sedona!

There are many places you can stop at while driving north to GC. You should zoom in on a Google map and find some national monuments, craters and natural sites. We must've stopped at 5 different places while heading to/from GC. Walnut canyon is one of them.
And if you go all the way to GC, you might as well exit on their east side and head north to Horseshoe Bend. And if you make it there, just go a bit more to Antelope Canyon or similar types iof canyons.

We did this trip mid April after most spring breaks were over that particular year.

Flew into Phoenix late afternoon and drove to Flagstaff- we wouldn’t have made it much further before nightfall. Stayed at a Courtyard Marriott, nothing special but fine, grabbed snacks, drinks etc from WalMart and spent the evening at a brewery downtown.

Up super early the next morning and kayaked the Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend. Amazing experience. Visited Horseshoe Bend from the classic overlook then headed to La Quinta hotel for the night, nothing special but fine.

Morning tour of Antelope Canyon, then drive to Monument Valley and stayed at a cabin at The View. Spectacular.

Head to Grand Canyon, entered East entrance and see the overlooks on the way to the village. Hiked along the Rim Trail for a couple miles, dinner and drinks at El Tovar. Stayed at Bright Angel Lodge room with a bathroom. The place gets mixed reviews but we were very happy with both our room and the location.

Next am up early to hike a short distance down Bright Angel Trail then did the bus ride to Hermits Rest. Drive to Sedona for 3 nights.

So much to do in Sedona! I could have spent more time here. We stayed in Uptown but I think next visit we would do West Sedona, it’s closer to the hiking I want to do.

We skipped Phoenix this trip because we have done the resort thing there before. As you can see we had a very busy first few days before relaxing in Sedona, it was a fine vibe for that trip but it was busy.

Great trip.

We really enjoyed our stop at Meteor Crater on our way back from the canyon. My kids loved thinking about a meteor impact and imagining what it would be like. Very fun stop.

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

But Sedona is much better which is why people stay there. You're not above going to Sedona, just too cheap to spend the night there apparently.

Sedona is just a tourist trap. The restaurants are all mid and it's almost as hot as the valley.

It’s far from my favorite place in Arizona but it’s truly beautiful and the shops have some really beautiful stuff. There are some good restaurants although it can be really hard to get reservations at the best ones. If you have a spare hour, I recommend this church — it was really amazing—
chapeloftheholycross

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

But Sedona is much better which is why people stay there. You're not above going to Sedona, just too cheap to spend the night there apparently.

Sedona is just a tourist trap. The restaurants are all mid and it's almost as hot as the valley.

I did a white water rafting trip through the canyon with OARS (outfitters from Angels Camp, CA). There were several options. Mine ended in Phantom Ranch (at the bottom of the canyon). You stay there one night and then hike out. The company makes your reservation and arrangements for your gear to be transported out by donkey. You can follow that up with a stay at a hotel near the canyon rim if you want.

It was great. Very relaxing, but also exciting. If you have older kids/teens, or no kids, check it out!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

But Sedona is much better which is why people stay there. You're not above going to Sedona, just too cheap to spend the night there apparently.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sedona is much prettier and more interesting than Flagstaff. In fact, I know its blasphemous but I prefer Sedona to the GC. Take the local road north from Sedona to GC - it has these awesome curves and switchbacks and views. You don't need more than a day or day and half at the GC unless you want to hike down into it. All the different lookout points looked pretty similar to me.

Yeah but you can use Flagstaff as a base for both Sedona and GC and not be surrounded by all the rich a+holes who stay in Sedona.

I don't like having a "base" that's not actually near the things I am seeing. I preferred staying in Sedona and then staying in the GC park itself. It would be a lot of driving to sleep in Flagstaff and drive around visiting GC and Sedona. But to each his own.